Astunlos
Astunlos “You know you’ve strayed far from the path when you stumble upon the kingdom of Astunlos.” High up in the mountains in south Vviventia resides the secluded nation of Astunlos. To the rest of Vviventia, Astunlos appears to be a poor nation, a mountain tribe that has faced many hardships and failed to thrive. Yet, this is an act, Astunlos is guarding a secret that’s buried deep within the mountains, one that if ever found out by the rest of Vviventia, would be catastrophic to their way of life. Astunlos has aimed to keep up their isolationist way of life by giving the rest of Vviventia no reason to come and visit, and shrouding their true ability with the power of Wightshards. Wightshards When a person first gazes upon true Astunlos the first thing they’d notice is the magnificent Wightshards that exist throughout the kingdom. The wightshards are essential for everyday life, they’re weaved into the clothes, hammered into the weapons, but most of all they power the barrier that keeps the true Astunlos invisible to the rest of Vviventia. The people of Vviventia have accepted and are grateful for the existence of the crystals yet only a select group know the true origins of them. High Council The high council resides in the Void Fortress and is made up of 8 elders, 5 for each of the months, known as the Populotai, and 3 elders from the Astunlos Monastery, known as the Astunites. The Populotai are selected from the people, and their role is to represent the people of Astunlos in the High Council. On the other hand, the Astunites are monks from the monastery who have reached their full potential in the body and the mind through decades of training in the monastery. The High Council decides on all matters within the Kingdom of Astunlos, however, since the formation of the High Council, the Populotai have always had the majority and so hold most of the power in the Council, despite the Astunites’ better judgement and wisdom. Populotai The Populotai are made up of 5 elders, each representing one of the months and are elected by the people. After being elected in, the elders stay in power indefinitely, until a call for another election is made, which would happen in the event of poor leadership or the passing of an elder. Astunites The Astunites are made up of 3 elders and represent the Astunlos Monastery, a fundamental part of life in the kingdom. The Astunites are not elected, but instead must go through a series of challenges, known as the “Trials of the Dragon”, only after they have reached a certain level of training. Many monks in the Monastery can only dream of becoming one of the Astunites. Nevertheless, it is not just talent that distinguishes the Astunites from the other monks, but decades of dedication and hardwork. In the High Council, the Astunites have two main concerns; the wellbeing of the monastery and the safety of Astun, one of the first elder dragons, from whom the people of Astunlos get their Wightshards. Founding of Astunlos During the wars against the dragons, Kaigo Ryu, a dragon slayer was seeking the elder dragon Astun. Tasked by the the neighbouring kingdoms, Kaigo was to go into the cold and treacherous mountains, west of Ghastun. Kaigo tracked the dragon for weeks, venturing deeper and deeper into the mountains where it seemed nothing could survive due to the harsh climate. After weeks of searching, Kaigo began to lose faith in finding and slaying Astun. Exhaustion began to settle in for Kaigo as he ran out of food and covered less ground with each day. Yet in the bitter cold of the mountains, Kaigo heard a voice, deep like thunder but calming. The voice told him, “Keep going, your body has given up but your mind has not.”. Kaigo instinctively knew that this was Astun, but instead of being scared, Kaigo was at peace. He followed the voice through the barren mountains until they opened up into a valley filled with dramatic waterfalls and cherry blossom trees. Kaigo, saw large white glowing crystals scattered across the valley that seemed to emanate life itself, causing nature to thrive around it. The crystals began to take their effect on Kaigo as well, restoring him from his broken body and filling him with life. Wild deer roamed free through the valley, with small crystals embedded in them, glowing like the ones scattered upon the ground and eagles soared through the sky. “I am the creator of this valley, everything you see here comes from me. When your kind drove the dragons out of the land, I began to lose hope. Every life is precious whether you are a dragon or a human.” It was at this point Kaigo dropped his weapons to the ground, life existed in its purest form here and needed to be respected. He could not hunt a creature who was so benevolent. “Kaigo, I will not be here forever. One day, I will begin to fade and become one with the valley that you see before you. You must continue my legacy, protect this sanctuary of life from the tragedies of war that exist outside of it. Now, come join me, you have much to learn.” Kaigo instinctively entered through the base of a waterfall into a large cavern, lit with the white glow of the crystals which seemed to cover the base of the cavern floor. There was a shimmer as the floor seemed to move, the whole cavern felt as if it were alive as Kaigo began to see the head of the Elder dragon, Astun coming out from the ground. “You were the only one to make it this far Kaigo, many hunters such as yourself seeked me, yet only you remain.” Astun began to explain the power behind the Wightshards, the white glowing crystals found throughout the valley that made up the scales of Astun. Kaigo had a purpose now. He had to preserve life and the legacy of what may be the last remaining dragon in Vviventia. He had much more to learn from the dragon and would continue to learn from him until Kaigo passed on. However, as guided by Astun, Kaigo was sent outside of the valley to find other people that had the potential to be worthy followers. Together, Kaigo and his followers began to build the Kingdom of Astunlos within the valley. Overtime, the sanctuary grew, and the kingdom had to expand outside of the valley. Despite this, the existence of the sanctuary, the Wightshards and the dragon in the valley were kept secret from the outside world. A barrier was created using the Wightshards to keep the entrance to the valley hidden. Astun The ancient, elder dragon has lived in the mountain since fleeing for safety Void Fortress The Void Fortress is home to the high council and the training academy for Monks of the Dragon. The wightshards power the Void Fort